China Telecom is eyeing the possibility of entering Mexico, with sources claiming the operator hopes to form a consortium that will bid for the chance to build and operate a wholesale mobile network.
A company spokesman said in a report by Reuters at the weekend that China Telecom is in the midst of a preliminary study into an investment opportunity in Mexico, but did not provide further details.
The admission followed an earlier report by the newswire that cited unnamed sources who claimed that China Telecom has secured billions of dollars in financing from state-controlled banks, including the China Development Bank, for the purpose of bidding for Mexico’s forthcoming infrastructure project.
In addition, a report by El Sol de Mexico on Saturday said that Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico’s minister of communications and transportation, discussed during a visit to China in November the possibility of China Telecom investing in Mexico’s planned mobile broadband network.
Announced in October last year, the Mexican government said it aims to deploy a nationwide, shared mobile network that will be ready to offer wholesale services from 2018.
The Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) said it hopes to raise up to $10 billion via a public-private partnership that will be invested in the network over the next 10 years.
It is thought that a number of international telecoms vendors, including Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, are lining up to bid for the project; contracts are expected to be awarded in the middle of next year.
